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west cork weekend

I spent most of my weekend hunkered down at home, deep cleaning and burning through Audible’s new podcast, West Cork. If you’re going to give it a listen (it’s free to everyone through May, whether or not you are an Audible subscriber) – I urge you to just dive in. Don’t read any reviews, and definitely don’t do any independent research about the crime or the cast of characters interviewed in the podcast. Apparently the players and the case are quite well known in the UK, but the podcast is full of “gotcha” moments for an ignorant listener like myself. It would’ve been far less enjoyable had I known, or even had an inkling, of the twists and turns in advance. (I actually gasped out loud when they finally revealed the primary suspect in the 3rd or 4th episode). I would say it’s about 7 hours of total programming. I listened during my deep cleaning on Saturday, while jogging on the treadmill both days, and instead of watching the Sunday morning news shows per my normal routine. It’s kind of insane that I spent so much time on a single podcast this weekend, but I really wanted to get to the end. And I was actively avoiding outdoor activities this weekend.

Despite the cold weather, today I convinced myself to wear my jeans with the torn knee (they came that way, actually). I usually limit these to fall and spring, for obvious reasons, but today I thought to myself “you haven’t worn these in months” and forced the issue. Which is incredibly stupid: it’s not as though the jeans are feeling jealous or left out because all of the other denim is in heavy rotation this time of year. So I threw on a turtleneck to even it out, as though that would somehow counteract the 15F air entering my pant leg when I left the house for a grocery run.

Tonight I’m going to make one of my favorite meals, a caprese quinoa bake. It’s a bit heavy, kind of like comfort food, but I really enjoy it this time of year. I can only make it when I know I’ll be home for at least a week, because it yields a solid 6 servings (I make it in a 9″ x 9″ baking dish). After dinner tonight, I’ll probably have this for lunch every day of the upcoming week. It’s so good. And I’ve convinced myself it’s not a nutritional disaster due to the quinoa (protein!) and the fact I serve a smaller portion for lunch. Because it takes nearly a week to finish, I find the final couple servings can be somewhat dry. I always set aside a small container of marinara sauce to mix in while reheating toward the end of the week, and that seems to do the trick. I discovered this recipe a few years ago and have made it so many times, I don’t even need to read the ingredient list. I’ve got this one memorized.